The defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears host the Springfield Thunderbirds for the first time this season tonight at GIANT Center.
Hershey Bears (21-6-0-0) vs. Springfield Thunderbirds (14-8-2-0)
December 17, 2023 | 5 p.m. | Game 28 | GIANT Center
Referees: Jim Curtin (22), Graedy Hamilton (41)
Linespersons: Dan Kovachik (72), Colin Gates (3)
Tonight's Promotions:
Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, AHL Hall-of-Famer Mitch Lamoureux, and in-arena host Jim Jones on the call
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, In-Arena on 88.9 FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 4:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears put on a show at GIANT Center last night, blitzing the Laval Rocket for a 7-1 victory. The seven goals tied Hershey's season-best, and it was the second straight Saturday the Bears have had a margin of victory of six goals. Hershey's Garrett Roe enjoyed a career-best night with four points, collecting a hat trick and an assist. Roe had three points in the first period, scoring at 2:30 and 6:12, and assisting on Ivan Miroshnichenko's power-play goal at 19:16. Riley Sutter scored at 8:14 of the second period for Hershey, and Alex Limoges tallied at 7:59 and 15:38 of the third period. Limoges would set up Roe for the hat trick with 30 seconds left in the game on the power play, capping a 3-for-5 night on the man advantage for Hershey. The Thunderbirds are also coming off a victory, winning at Lehigh Valley last night, 4-2. Drew Callin and Mikhail Abramov each had a goal and an assist for Springfield in the win, and netminder Vadim Zherenko stopped 34 shots.
ROE'S ROARING:
Garrett Roe's hat trick last night was Hershey's second of the season, and it marked the first time in Roe's AHL career he collected a trio of goals. Roe's goals were his first three tallies of the season, and his first three markers as a Bear, making him the first Bear to accomplish both feats since Devante Smith-Pelly had a hat trick on Mar. 10, 2019 at Hartford. Roe opened the scoring last night with his first AHL tally since Apr. 14, 2013 when he was a member of the Adirondack Phantoms before departing for a successful career overseas for the past decade.
TUSSLING WITH THE T-BIRDS:
Tonight marks the first of four meetings between Springfield and Hershey this season. In 2022-23, the Bears went 4-0-0-0 versus Springfield, outscoring the T-Birds 16-8. Returning forward Hendrix Lapierre scored four points (2g, 2a) versus Springfield while netminder Hunter Shepard was 3-0-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage. Hershey has won nine straight games versus Springfield at GIANT Center as the last time the Thunderbirds won in Chocolatetown was on Dec. 1, 2018. Overall since the T-Birds entered the league in 2016-17, the Bears have gone 14-2-1-0 on home ice versus Springfield.
WALKS AND V RETURN:
Springfield's lineup features a pair of notable former Bears in Nathan Walker and Jakub Vrana. Walker is in his third season with the St. Louis Blues organization and is second on the T-Birds in points with 25 (11g, 14a). He played for Hershey from 2013-19, logging 140 points (60g, 80a) in 300 games. For Vrana, tonight marks his first game back in Hershey since wearing the Chocolate and White from 2015-17. He played in 88 games with Hershey over part of three seasons, notching 70 points (35g, 35a). Vrana went onto win the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018, and he scored 25 goals for Washington in 2019-20, but he's been unable to return to form since being traded by the Capitals to Detroit in 2021.
BENCH BOSS SHUFFLE FOR SPRINGFIELD:
It's been a busy week for the Springfield Thunderbirds as the club's head coach, Drew Bannister, departed the team earlier this week to take over as the interim head coach of the NHL's St. Louis Blues. Bannister, who led Springfield to the 2022 Calder Cup Finals, won his NHL coaching debut on Thursday vs. Ottawa after taking over the reins of the club from former Bear Craig Berube. Springfield's current interim bench boss is Daniel Tkaczuk, the club's associate head coach since 2021. He has past experience as an assistant coach with Owen Sound and Kitchener in the OHL, as well as the AHL's Chicago Wolves, San Antonio Rampage, and Utica Comets.
BEARS BITES:
Tonight marks the 100th game in Todd Nelson's tenure as head coach of Hershey. He's guided the Bears to a 65-25-5-4 record...Logan Day's three assists last night were a career-best and his three points tied a career-high...Mike Sgarbossa has four assists over his last two games and ranks third in the AHL in scoring with 28 points...Sgarbossa, as well as Hershey defenders Dylan McIlrath, Jake Massie, and Chase Priskie are all former Springfield Thunderbirds...Riley Sutter's goal last night was his fifth of the season, tying his career-best established last year...Hershey's 35 shots last night were the most they've fired this season...Hershey's Ryan Hofer is the younger brother of former Springfield goaltender Joel Hofer, now the backup netminder for the NHL's St. Louis Blues.
ON THIS DATE:
December 17, 2004 - Hershey's David Masse records a natural hat trick, with each goal coming on the power play, as the Bears go 3-for-5 with the man advantage en route to a 4-2 win at GIANT Center over the Albany River Rats.
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